BBC Broadcast sell-off approved
Culture Minister Tessa Jowell has approved the privatisation of BBC Broadcast to Australian bankers.
Pickets opposing the sell-off outside BBC Broadcast in May.
The successful bidder, Macquarie Bank Ltd, is expected to take over the contract on 31 July 2005 at a sale price of £166 million.
Following the successful industrial action on 23 May, and the subsequent discussions at the ACAS, employees in BBC Broadcast have secured guarantees on pensions, job security and terms and conditions of employment.
These included a three-year promise of no changes in terms and conditions, a guarantee that there would be no compulsory redundancies for at least one year, and the right to join a final salary pension scheme "broadly comparable" to the BBC's own.
In a recent consultative ballot BECTU members in the area voted overwhelmingly to accept the guarantees negotiated at ACAS and by a large majority opposed the sale of BBC Broadcast.
Unions remain concerned about the long-term impact on the BBC of "selling the family silver" as officials have described the process of privatisation which began with the sale of the Corporation's transmitter network in 1997.
BBC Broadcast is involved in the playout of BBC television channels along with a number of commercial channels.